Current Sermon Series

Ever felt like you're without hope? Wondered if God has forgotten about you? If he's forgotten about the world? Wondered where he is, or if he is? Ever asked in your heart or out loud, "Where in the world is God?

In this worship series, we’ll find answers in the Bible to that very question.

The world can be a dark place. We see it in the news. We see it in our lives. But on the first Christmas, a brilliant light pierced the darkness. The child born in a Bethlehem stable had come to bring the light of forgiveness and peace to a darkened world. Join us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! Our Christmas worship will feature an inspiring message, favorite Christmas carols, and best of all, a place to bask in the light of the Christ-child.

“Grace” is undeserved love. Usually when we talk about grace, we refer to the love God has for people that we don’t deserve. But what would life look like if God’s grace didn’t exist? What would your relationships with God, with yourself, with others, with your community, with your world…look like?

This series proclaims the simple truth: Grace transforms relationships:

So you might say the title of this series doesn’t make sense, or is at the very least redundant— grace is always “one-way,” because the person on the receiving end of grace has never done anything to get grace…if the person had done even a single thing, then grace wouldn’t be grace—it wouldn’t be unmerited!

In this series, we will see over and over again that the grace Jesus shows us is one-way, and why that is such good news for everyone. No apologies for a perhaps-redundant title!

The answer for so many of the struggles in life is having a stronger faith—a faith that believes that in spite of our sins, we are loved and forgiven by God in spite of our sins, and a faith that trusts that God will ultimately provide, help, heal, and/or work it (read: everything) out according to his wisdom. In this series we will take a closer look at the gift of faith, where it comes from, and what it looks like in the believer’s life. In the process, may your faith be strengthened!

Samson is usually thought of as a hero. A strong man who did incredible things. And in a sense, he was! He was incredibly strong and he did, in fact, do incredible things.

But he also faltered. He slipped up. He fell down. Hard. Distraction and temptation did him in.

And yet, in Samson, who in so many ways is ordinary, just like us, we see God doing extraordinary things. Join us for this 2-week series on Judges 16 that focuses on the powerful things God does for and through his people.

If you thought Jesus’ death was the end of the story, you thought wrong. His perfect life, innocent death, and burial in a rich man’s tomb was just the start of his mission to save us from our sins. But Sunday came and Jesus’ intermission ended. His resurrection ripped back the curtain and gave us joy, hope, peace, forgiveness, and life with God. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that there is an Act II! So, if you are living in a “Good Friday” world, thinking your story is over, your life will never change, and you’ll never be good enough for God, you thought wrong. Easter is your Act II, too!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. (1 Peter 1:3-4).

What is "Love"? So many ways to answer that question, depending on what kind of love you mean, depending on what kind of relationship the love is in, depending on the motivation of the love, the goals of love...

For the next 6 weeks before Easter, we are going to walk through Jesus' life and see what his love for us caused him to do...and in turn, what that love looks like in our lives.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35

What people want to happen this time of year and what actually happens are often drastically different. Some want peace and get stress. Some want happiness and get grief. Some want togetherness and they feel more alone than ever. What’s wrong? Often, we base our expectations on our earthly reality. This Advent, as we get ready for Christmas, God wants us to know the reality he has given us. That reality helps us live with the right expectations for the present, the future, and forever. With his reality our expectations will be met and then some, because Jesus is the Savior who came, who saved us, and who has an eternal home for us.

Join us at 10:30am each Sunday leading up to Christmas for the series "Expectation vs. Reality".

Many people get a little uncomfortable when the topic of money comes up, especially in church. Jesus, however, was not at all uncomfortable with the topic. That’s because he knew that money wasn’t really the issue. The real issue is the heart.

Jesus came from the viewpoint that everything we are and have comes from God—the God who not only promises to provide generously for all our needs, but also gave up his own life so that we could have and enjoy life to the full. As we take a closer look at what Jesus said about generosity we seek to better understand God’s heart and what his overwhelming generosity looks like and means for our everyday lives.

November 12th: Generous God

November 19th: Generous Life

November 26th: Generous Heart

Come check out what Jesus said about generosity at 10:30am the next 3 weeks!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).

On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 Theses for debate on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany (the church door served as the bulletin board for the University in town). These 95 statements questioned the practice of selling papers called "indulgences" in order to forgive sins and/or lessen time spent in purgatory. In years that followed, Martin Luther led a reformation, which led people back to the true teachings of the Bible: law, gospel, and salvation given as a free gift from God through faith in Jesus as the Savior of the world. We praise God for the work of Martin Luther and the other reformers, for the 500 years of grace since that time, but especially for the grace he has shown by rescuing us from our sins and their eternal consequences, and instead promising us eternal life in heaven!

In an age when nearly everything is advertised as new and improved, when technology promises to make life easier and simpler, but often merely adds to stress and makes life more complex, and when views on the Bible's message and Christianity are more varied and full of more questions than ever, we need to get back to the basics. And so this summer at Shepherd of the Lakes, that is what we'll do. As we study the the book of Romans, chapters 1-8, we will dive into the basics of the Christian faith, one word at a time.

The reality is, everyone is a builder. We're all trying to build a life. To build a happy future. Everyone is a builder.

That means that everyone is building on something. What is it for you? What is your foundation? What is your underlying source of strength? What is the hope the trumps all other hopes? The dream that is big enough to sustain you even if all your other dreams are shattered?

Is the foundation of your life strong? Strong enough to carry you through difficult times? To hold you up when life gets extremely hard?

Everyone is a builder. So, what are you building your life upon? What is your foundation?

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done." - Psalm 118:17,22

Sin brings so many severe and awful consequences into our lives. In order to free us from them all, Jesus became just like us, suffering the smart of every one of those consequences. Through this series we’ll gain a renewed appreciation for what it is we’ve been rescued from and all that Jesus went through to make this rescue possible.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

March 5: Our Temptation

March 12: Our Guilt

March 19: Our Weakness

March 26: (Break from the series with guest preacher and presenter John Kenyon)

Have you ever had one of those moments when something just clicked? Maybe you were experiencing angst over some decision or you didn’t know how to solve a problem. And then, just like that, it all became clear. Suddenly, you wonder why you didn’t see it earlier.

The world we live in has some pretty serious issues with God and the Bible. There are things he does that just don’t seem to make sense. It’s like, in some ways, God is hiding from us. But every once and a while he pulls back that veil and helps us see and understand something we’ve never understood before. These are big moments when suddenly God’s plan and God’s great love become clearer.

In this four week Epiphany (Epiphany is a historic season of the Christian church year, and is also defined as "a sudden insight") series we’ll explore world-changing, life-altering “aha” moments in the lives of a number of God’s New Testament followers. It is our prayer that these “aha” moments will also help to bring clarity and understanding to us and to our spiritual journey today.

It seems unbelievable...that someone could predict with miraculous clarity events over 700 years in the future. But that's exactly what the prophet Isaiah did! Over 700 years before Jesus lived on this earth, Isaiah prophesied some of the best news of the entire Bible. Join us in preparing for Christmas at 10:30am each Sunday with Isaiah's "good news" message:

November 27th: Unexpected Grace for those Facing JudgmentDecember 4th: New Life Coming out of DeathDecember 11th: An Eternal Home for those in ExileDecember 18th: Great Light for those in Darkness

Come as your are and experience just a couple of the many amazing promises Jesus has made for you!

October 30 – Reformation “You Are Free.”

We live in the land of the free, and there are few things we value more than freedom. At the core of our being, we want the freedom to do what we want, to have what we want, and even to believe what we want. But that isn’t true freedom. This world and our own doing will never provide the absolute sensation of freedom. Despite our efforts, we are always competing, always desiring more, always having to work harder. Martin Luther learned this lesson as he tried to find real freedom in this life. He found it. In Christ Jesus, your heart is completely set free because of his gracious work, his life, his efforts. Only in Christ will you be blissfully and truly free.

November 6 – Last Judgment “You Don’t Need To Fear.”

Every person has faced a pending judgment. A kid caught stealing now stands before their parents. A young adult caught cheating in class now stands before their teacher. An adult caught slacking at work or showing up late now stands before their boss. Knowing your fate is in someone else's hands is frightening. How much more frightened are we as we stand before the all-knowing God with all of our sins laid bare? The promise of the Last Judgment is filled with grace and mercy. With complete confidence, we know as Christians that we don’t have to fear that day. We know, in Christ Jesus, we are declared innocent in his blood. Praise be to Christ!

November 13 – Saints Triumphant “You Will Live.”

Nothing is more guaranteed in this life than death. No matter how advanced medicine, science, and healthcare get, every human being will face death. Even though we know this, it doesn’t necessarily make death easier to handle. Death is horrid. Death is absolutely not right. Thanks be to our loving God that he would not put up with it. Instead, today we celebrate the greatest gift mankind has ever been given. Through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, we will not die, but live. And more than that, our eternity is not just a place of ethereal bliss, but a real life. A life in which Jesus will bless us with everything this world lacks.

November 20 – Thanksgiving/Christ the King “It Will All Be Made Right.”

Why is this happening? That is a question that arises in the midst of many of life’s issues. Financial loss. Being back-stabbed by a friend. Natural disaster. The sudden loss of a loved one. The reality of a sin-stricken world is that there will be anguish, suffering, and disappointment. An imperfect world brings imperfect and often terrifying events. But we give thanks that this is not how it will be forever. Instead, Christ the ruler of all things points us to a day when none of those problems will touch us ever again. In paradise, the evils of our current world will be undone and made right. We look forward to that day where we will live in a world that is right, forever.

Almost everyone has an ideal of how they'd like to live life, how they'd like to be. She knows how he'd like to treat her family, he knows how he'd like to treat his friends...but it's all easier said than done. The Bible not only lays out what healthy habits of ever-growing Christians are, but also shows us the power that enables us to live in such ways, and tells us what happens when we inevitably don't.

9/18 - Wisdom With Wealth

9/25 - Making the Most of Opportunities

10/2 - Doing Your Duty

10/9 - Living Thankfully

10/16 - Praying Persistently

Come check out what the Bible says about healthy ways to live your life, and what gives you the power to live such a life, at 10:30am each Sunday--hope to see you here @ 8420 Runyan Lake Road just south of Fenton!